Two seaman awarded $375K in whistle-blower case involving illegal dumping off N.J. coast

[Robbien]

Source: The Star-Ledger

The U.S. government will award two seamen $375,000 for informing authorities the Swedish shipping company they were working for was illegally dumping oil-contaminated waste off the coast of New Jersey, according to a report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The whistle-blowers were crew members aboard the M/V Snow Flower, a 568-foot refrigerated ship operated by Holy House Shipping of Stockholm. Coast Guard inspectors in Gloucester City boarded the ship in Feb. 2008 and discovered discrepancies in the vessel's Oil Record Book. They also located a pipe that was used to secretly discharge waste into the oceans.

A federal judge in Camden Tuesday fined Holy House $1 million.

Read more: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/two_seamen_awarded_375k_for_wh.html

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If one ship is doing it, the others probably are also.

[ClarkUSA]

1. This is CHANGE. Under BushCo, this case would've been dismissed.

[burythehatchet]

2. Agree completely

and BushCo officials would have negotiated a payoff

[ClarkUSA]

3. That's right.

BushCo officials would have negotiated a payoff

Probably like an agreement to buy some Halliburton stock for CEO wifey Ingrid or something like that.

[MineralMan]

4. You bet they are...

"If one ship is doing it, the others probably are also. "

Buncha Freepers! They dump their load, then steam away. They can't see it anymore, and it's their right to trash the planet, goldurn it!

A guy I know bragged to me about dumping 6 gallons of old fuel/oil mixture for his outboard motor in the lake I usually fish in. He was shocked that I chewed his ass out about it. He doesn't fish there, you see, so what does it matter?

Buncha Freepers!

[cloudbase]

5. Actually, these were prosecuted

aggressively during the Bush administration. The U.S. Attorney's office that successfully prosecutes these cases gets a cut of the fine imposed, so there is more than a little incentive to bring these to trial. They generally don't get people and companies for polluting, but for making false entries in the oil record books.

I'm a retired chief engineer who did some consulting work on the M.V. Tanabata pollution case.

[Turbineguy]

6. Actually....

They've been rolling up people for years doing that. Even during the Bush years.

The by-pass on the oily water separator is called the "magic pipe".

On edit: :hi: Cloudbase! Glad you are spending your time usefully!

[Reterr]

7. k&r.eom

[jberryhill]

8. Seamen dumping in New Jersey...